Data linking in Numbers

Formulas in Numbers cannot refer to other Numbers documents. Some think that is a good thing, because links between documents are so easily broken when something is moved in the file system.

It is possible to use scripts to pass values between documents, but that is fiddly and time-consuming to set up.

Curious why you need this, given that Numbers, unlike Excel, allows you with ease to put multiple tables on each sheet (tab), and with multiple sheets there is more than enough space for most projects within a single document.

Perhaps you are starting to have truly humungous tables, in the tens of thousands of rows, and are starting to see sluggish behavior. If that is the case then you may need to consider Excel, which is designed to handle larger datasets than Numbers.

SG

SGIII wrote:

Formulas in Numbers cannot refer to other Numbers documents. Some think that is a good thing, because links between documents are so easily broken when something is moved in the file system.

Hi SG,

I, for one, am of the opinion that it is a good thing that Numbers documents can not refer to other Numbers documents. Keep it all in one document!

Looking back to when colleagues would send me a "summary" Excel spreadsheet without the linking (supporting) Excel spreadsheets.

Excel would throw a hissy fit with: "This spreadsheet could not be updated."

Colleague would throw a hissy fit with: "But it works perfectly for me! why can't you see what I see?"

Ho hum... and they were power users in Excel.

Regards,

Ian

JP from EG wrote:

Excel would require Windows emulation or similar and a subscription.

Not true any more. You can get Excel on the Mac App Store. It's subscription basis there, but you can get also buy a copy of MS Office non-subscription if you hunt a little elsewhere.

Sluggishness might result not just from the size of your tables, but also from the types of formulas you have in them. Lots of so-called "volatile" formulas (that recalculate every time you make a change in your document) can slow things down. Examples of these include OFFSET, ROW, COLUMN, INDIRECT, NOW, TODAY.

Also if you have many formulas calculating summary data, then you may well be able to improve performance by using Pivot Tables, since these only recalculate when you choose 'refresh'.

And of course in general you will have a better experience if you stay up-to-date on macOS and Numbers, currently Sonoma 14.1.2 and Numbers 13.2.

SG

Yes, I agree that keeping related work in one document is the most efficient approach. Not just on a Mac, but especially if trying to use a document cross-platform.

SG